by Doranna
The fire season is coming on early, dry, and hard, so I’ve been working as I can on the arroyo fire clearing project (which is much bigger than I am any way you look at it).
Last fall I addressed the overgrowth along the back of the barn and paddock. Some of the cuttings went to a wood ministry, and some went into chippings. Along the way I learned that it’s possible–if time consuming–to break major branches down into component parts and disperse most of the parts over the property.
I’m currently focusing on Arroyo Minor, which is behind/below the house and inside the pasture fence. This is the area through which a fire would most naturally track. Even before we lost a handful of major trees to drought last year, it was a huge job.
So for starters, I’m trying to get the worst of it. Deadwood out. Ladder fuel trimmed up.
I feel bad about the amount of pruning, but the truth is that had we humans not interfered so deeply with this land, the natural ebb and flow of beasties and fire would have been here before me. The challenge in moving forward is the interdependency of some of these species. So many of them, like the piñon, skunkbush, and wee little contorted oaks depend on junipers for cover to get started.
In the end, I’m aiming to leave enough shade, ground cover, and erosion control while creating enough space between bunched growth and ladder fuel elimination for fire safety. In the process, I take the cuttings down to the smallest branch.
The smaller bits go to generalized and specific erosion control, while a certain number of juniper cuttings are piling into the gaping gulch at the edge of the fenceline to slow that water flow in case we actually get monsoon rains ever again. (insert climate change sarcasm) The straighter branches line the bottom of the fence where the miserable installation left big gaps. Not dog proof as intended, no indeed.
All of this slows my progress considerably. But it’s best for the land, and it’ll minimize expenses, and it doesn’t leave too many huge looming piles of vulnerable brush crying out, “Burn me! Please!” Eventually we’ll have to haul stuff to the transfer station where it’ll be shredded by Star Warsian machinery to serve as mulch for others, but until then….
The current project after the first work session. You can tell where the ladder fuel branches, dead and otherwise, used to reach by the color of the soil and the little border of cut branches. You can also see the big dead pinion in the middle. (There are a total of seven dead pinions in that cluster.)
Here’s what it looks like on the other side, where I haven’t started yet. Looked like this all around, at first.
The interior of the cluster after three lengthy clearing sessions–about half done, but now I can duck into the central trunk area. That’s the big dead pinion in the center. Must go…
Timberrrr! Me and the bow saw. Dropped it right into the narrow slot available for a clean fall! Boy was I smug.
Of course, now the dead crown of the felled pinion is the best fire fuel you can imagine, right there in the central fire zone.
Slowly working it down, branch by branch…
Bonus flower section!
Looks like we’re going to have some gorgeous yucca blooms this year!
Fleabane down in the drainage area of Arroyo Minor
On my way out to capture some Santa Fe Phlox from Arroyo Major–a beautiful little fuchsia ground flower. Got to race some incoming weather. Add thunder rumbling to this sky…
Still on my way out to grab the phlox. This picture is my idea of climate change irony.
One of our few ponderosas, now dead. It used to shelter the phlox…thus my concern for it, and my attempt to save and nurture some of it. You can see the little pink phlox flowers peeking out and about beneath the tree.
No phlox pictures, because it started raining and I planted it so the single flower faces away from view (it made sense for other reasons!). But here’s my mutant Organ Mt. Larkspur, replanted several years ago from the north flat where I ride. It’s doing well!
And here’s the blue flax, which is thriving this year!
And we’ve had an inch of rain over the weekend, which should keep the downed piñon from bursting into spontaneous flame for a while. RAIN, I say! I wonder what flowers will come up next?
Um what are ladder fuel branches?
The lower branches that create a ladder for a ground fire to turn into a crown fire. Which, as you may guess, is very, very bad…
Okay Dokey. Not really being at risk of wild fires it’s not a term I’ve heard before 🙂
And it’s been so much a constant concern here that I didn’t even think twice… 8)
Rain, rain come again….! Wow. One doesn’t entirely appreciate the amount of work to maintain fire safety in truly dry land. I was too young when I lived in New Mexico to fully understand!
I think it makes a difference where you live…we’re decently into the mid-foothills, and on property that hasn’t been maintained to this point (but has been affected by human factors that unbalance the land).
Climate change is really, really not helping. We lost so many beautiful pinions last year, and the little things simply aren’t growing at all. This soil is so fragile–it needs those root systems.
I lived in Farmington when I was there. One of the things that is a favorite memory is the scent of a piñon campfire — with all due precautions taken, but partly to get rid of excess dead wood. Then, after the ash was cold — very cold — it would be spread around. Whenever I read about “controlled burns,” I worry — because Fire isn’t all that easy to control.
Anyone who thinks climate change doesn’t exist isn’t paying attention — and that’s whether it’s to drought in the Southwest or hurricanes along the Gulf Coast. Part of the reason the damage from Hurricane Katrina was so severe was the human damage to the wetlands.
Exactly so.
Also, I’m impressed that you got the tilde-n for pinion in this interface!
Alt+0241 for the tilde-n, I believe. (evil grin)
What? WHAT? You have them memorized? I am insufficient…
Uh… no… not exactly. I happen to have a character whose name includes a tilde-n and before I learned how to do an auto-correct on it, I memorized it. Have another one with “ö” which I think is called “lowercase O with a diaresis,” which sounds like a disease, and which I happen to remember is Alt+0246. Other than that, I have Character Map pinned to my task bar!
I have it pinned to the taskbar on the other computer. Must get it on this one, too…
I am enjoying the flowers this year after NO spring flowers last year, at all. I enjoyed the SNOW this weekend in the Pecos. and the rain on Sunday here as well. I like that larkspur pic!
I saw your pic of SNOW! My goodness! I don’t doubt it, though. The temps plunged really far here and we had one night well below freezing.
The wildflowers still seem sparse, but…at least they’re trying! I think it’s a result of the perennials grabbing onto that fall rain we had and stocking up for growth.
I bet you are right about the moisture and the perennials. that late fall snow hung around a long time since it stayed fairy cool so i guess a lot of the moisture got into the ground and the plants. Yay! Now I want to check the drought monitor!
I actually have a couple of perennials that I seeded last fall and that started in that wet spot and stayed green/above ground during the winter–those are going great guns right now.